


Chance Encounter

by WhoGeek



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: And maybe tilt your head a little, Gen, Kid Fic, Pre-Slash if you squint really hard, The Hale Fire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-25
Updated: 2013-03-25
Packaged: 2017-12-06 12:01:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/735397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhoGeek/pseuds/WhoGeek
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek has a brief encounter after the fire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chance Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this after I saw [this post](http://torakodragon.tumblr.com/post/41247728189/so-what-if-after-the-hale-fire-i-dont-know) over on tumblr a while back. Kind of forgot I had it and decided to post it now.
> 
> Thanks to Shanachie for the beta.

Derek just sits in the uncomfortable chair one of the deputies pushed him down into as people seem to flow around him. He can't smell any of the people, just the acrid tang of fire and burning flesh and hair. It's all his fault. His family, his pack, would still be alive if he hadn't let himself be twisted to the whims of an older woman.

He feels hollow. Like everything good has been ripped out of him. He can feel the wolf scrambling to take over; is tempted to just let it happen. It would be easy, his anchor is shattered and it doesn't seem worth it to keep going.

He stares down at his hands, the smudges of dirt and soot on his skin from Laura holding him back, not letting him run into the house to try and save them. He can feel her, his Alpha now, has since he submitted to her as they stared at the inferno. He knows that if she had lost him too she would be feral now and the Hale pack would be gone. It’s not much of a pack now, with a new Alpha and a single broken beta. Derek can’t quite bring himself to care beyond the fact that Laura is everything he has now.

“Are you okay?” There’s a pair of shoes, small, kid shoes, standing in front of him. “Mister?”

Derek looks up at the kid. He has a small, black stuffed animal. A wolf. He looks too old to be carrying a stuffed animal around a police station. The kid’s got to be nine, maybe ten. Close to a couple of his younger cousins but no, they’re gone. Human and wolf alike. He feels the tears that have been pricking at his eyes overflow and roll down his face.

“Oh...no... Don’t cry! It’s all right!” He spins around for a moment but everyone is busy. “Uhm, uh...” The kid looks down at the wolf. “Oh!”

The wolf is suddenly closer; right in his face. “Here! His name is Anger, I named him that ‘cause he always looks angry. My dad said if I ever feel angry or scared or if I’m having a panic attack I should hug him. I got him because I wanted Mom to have something to look out for her while she was in the hospital but I never got to give him to her, so Anger protects me when things hurt too much. You can have him. I think you need him more than I do.”

Derek stares at the proffered toy. The fur is scuffed and worn in places but clean and it looks soft. The kid’s arms start to drop after a moment and Derek reaches out wrapping around both kid and toy, drawing him in against his chest. He tucks his head against one small shoulder. The kid is stiff and startled for a moment but then small arms are wrapping around him in a hug.

Soap and sweat and detergent and cotton and warm skin are the first things Derek has been able to smell that aren’t fire and death and terror. He pulls back when he hears Laura growl a short warning, too low for humans to hear, wipes his eyes and blinks at the kid.

“Here.” The wolf is pressed into his hands. He curls his fingers around it, noting that the fur is very soft. The kid smiles, a little wobbly but still big and pleased. “See? Now Anger can protect you when things hurt too much, ‘kay?”

Derek nods jerkily and the kid bounces before turning and wandering away.

Laura walks over a little while later and sits down. “Who was that?” Derek shrugs. He never did get the kid’s name. “Why did you hug him?”

“I... He...” Derek runs his thumb over the ears of the little wolf. “He just wanted me to not cry.”

Laura pushes her shoulder against him. “And offering you the little wolf plush had nothing to do with it?”

He pulls it away when she reaches out to touch it. “He said its... his name is Anger.”

“I heard.” Laura’s voice is soft. “Sounded like a smart kid. Like he knew what he was talking about.”

Derek frowns at that. It has to be hard for her, with being a new Alpha and suddenly the connection to most of the pack gone. It’s hard enough for Derek to deal, with less of a connection to the whole pack. “How are you... not falling apart?”

Laura sighs. “Because I’m your Alpha now. I have to keep it together. It’s my job to take care of you first.” She slings her arm around his shoulder, pulls him closer. He lets his head drop onto her shoulder; stronger, bigger than the kid’s had been. “I’ll let go when you’re closer to okay.”

He nods and curls towards her. He has to keep it together too. Laura will take care of him so he has to be able to take care of her. That’s what pack does for each other. He’s not going to be the weak point again. He curls the hand still holding Anger to his chest. This, right here, is all he can care about now.


End file.
